Spigen Apple Watch Stand Review: Affordable Charging

With the Apple Watch having been released a just over a month accessories have started hitting the market and one hot product is definitely charging stands. If you did not purchase one of the more expensive versions of Apple’s newest wearable that included a charging box you like us, were left with a watch and a puck that charged it. With nothing else in the equation when the two devices met you were left with an odd shaped scenario on your desk or nightstand that nobody knew exactly what to do with. Charging stands aim to solve this problem and while many are carrying high price tags north of $50 we are aiming to solve the problem at a more reasonable cost while hopefully not sacrificing our experience. In this review we will see if the $20 Spigen S330 Watch stand fits the bill.

Spigen’s new watch stand came in a quality matte finished box with an authenticity hologram in the form of a sticker on the front. The box was fairly easy to open with 2 stickers sealing each side of the top sealing it closed. After the box gets open you can see the watch stand inside with a small plastic bag covering it and 2 pieces of paper literature. We would like to note that there was no insert to keep the stand from moving around although in Spigen’s defense there isn’t much the stand could hit itself on and possibly damage anything.

Once everything is out of the box inspecting the papers that come with it becomes easier. One is a small double sided certificate of authenticity with your Spigen product’s serial number on the back, presumably for registering on their website in case of a warranty issue or defect. The other is a folded in half one sided instruction manual, although we believe most will not read this due to it being such a simple device.

The stand itself is made from solid aluminum and TPU that has had a coating of rubber applied to it and really goes well with other apple products and devices if you have any that also live on your desk. The base pairs very well the base of the iMac for instance. The unite is light yet sturdy, not bending under a moderate amount of force that it might be subjected to. The rubber feels soft to the touch yet hard, and easily leaves fingerprints on itself. The Spigen logo is imprinted below the cut out for the charging puck but does get hidden when your watch is actually charging on it. The rubber section which we shall call the “head” is at a 45 degree angle to make viewing an easy task if it should be so required. The rubber head is also resistant to scratches being that it is going to see the most use out of the whole stand.

Installing Apple’s charging cable is easy as either end whether it be the USB or the puck will fit through the side pass through and while being pressed in from the back the rubber grabs the charging puck with its fingers that run along the inside. the base of the cable is also tucked away in it’s attached cut out directing the cable to where it is supposed to go. This stand option does nothing in attempt to hide the cable so you might need to get creative in your attempts of hiding it or just hope that the fit and finish of Spigen’s stand distracts people onlooking with envy. It is also important to note that this model works with both the white and stainless charging cable so any version of Apple’s Watch will work.

The base of this stand itself is not weighted and at times you must place your hand on it while removing your watch to keep it on it’s surface while separating the two. Heavier feet may have solved this instead of the four lightweight typical rubber ones on the bottom. Since the feet do raise the base ever so slightly it might be possible to attach some weight in a non visible area but we’ll leave that for another day.

Conclusion

Spigen has done it again with this great product at one of the cheapest price points out there for a stand for your new smartwatch. At $20 it also makes it the cheapest metal stand available to date. Cheaper plastic pillar style designs have already had reports of the cable not staying routed and most of their designs are lacking. If you want a cheap buy it and forget it solution for charging that looks like it could have been designed by Jony Ives himself we strongly recommend Spigen’s S330. It goes to show once again that a reputable name usually means a quality product which will have little to no issues down the road.

Athough Spigen’s website has this stand listed at $24.99 you can find it HERE for $19.99 with free shipping as stated in this article.